Taliban stop cars, kill passengers in central Afghanistan
- 10 years ago
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
Taliban insurgents intercepted two minibuses travelling through central Afghanistan and killed at least 14 passengers overnight, officials said on Friday (July 25).
One survivor of the attack says armed men stopped the buses and separated the passengers into two groups before opening fire. Three women and a three-year-old child were among those killed.
Local officials in the remote, mountainous province of Ghor said most of the passengers were from the ethnic Hazara Shi'ite minority, but that could not be independently verified.
The Taliban, an austere Sunni militant group that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, has been fighting U.S.-led and Afghan forces since they were removed after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. targets.
The Taliban, made up mainly of ethnic Pashtuns, have often targeted Shi'ites, whom they see as infidels who deserve to die.
Many of the Hazaras - believed to be descended from Mongol invader
Taliban insurgents intercepted two minibuses travelling through central Afghanistan and killed at least 14 passengers overnight, officials said on Friday (July 25).
One survivor of the attack says armed men stopped the buses and separated the passengers into two groups before opening fire. Three women and a three-year-old child were among those killed.
Local officials in the remote, mountainous province of Ghor said most of the passengers were from the ethnic Hazara Shi'ite minority, but that could not be independently verified.
The Taliban, an austere Sunni militant group that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, has been fighting U.S.-led and Afghan forces since they were removed after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. targets.
The Taliban, made up mainly of ethnic Pashtuns, have often targeted Shi'ites, whom they see as infidels who deserve to die.
Many of the Hazaras - believed to be descended from Mongol invader